Illinoisans will soon see fewer unexpected “junk fees” and greater protections from robots snatching up concert tickets, lawmakers and Gov. JB Pritzker said at a signing for a handful of consumer protection bills Thursday.

“Corporations have become more and more creative in finding ways to charge consumers more while telling them less about what they’re charging them for,” Pritzker said at a news conference at Concord Music Hall in Chicago. “Today is about something really simple but enormously important, and that’s protecting people’s hard-earned money.”

Democratic lawmakers billed the governor’s signings as part of their agenda to make living in Illinois more affordable — a key election-year message as the governor and many members of the Democratic legislative supermajority face voters in November.

The new laws will prohibit companies from advertising products without showing mandatory fees and then tacking them on at the final stage of a purchase.

That will help level the playing field and stop rewarding businesses that engage in deceptive advertising pricing, said Democratic state Rep. Bob Morgan, one of the key sponsors.

While corporations might eventually find “some other scheme,” Pritzker said he considered the law to now comprehensively cover junk fees.

The junk fee bill ultimately received bipartisan votes, though some business groups, including those representing retailers and manufacturers, indicated opposition during negotiations.

“I think it’s a great idea. However, I think this legislation goes just a step too far on our already overburdened businesses,” Republican state Rep. Tom Weber said during House floor debate earlier this year.

In addition to the junk fees law, concertgoers and live sports fans will have greater protections under the new laws, legislators said. One bill will explicitly prohibit ticket re-sellers from offering tickets they don’t actually have, and another bans the use of bots to buy up tickets. Both bills passed without opposition in the state House and Senate.

“Fans should not have to compete against bots to attend a live concert,” said Democratic state Sen. Steve Stadelman.

Stadelman joked that he wasn’t personally a frustrated fan of Taylor Swift — one of the artists whose ticket prices have at times risen to astronomical levels amid complaints of predatory re-sellers — but that smaller artists and venues are harmed by those practices too.

Those junk fee and ticket measures go into effect in 2027, according to the governor’s office.

A final bill signed Thursday, which also passed without opposition in the General Assembly, will add oversight to the emerging “buy-now-pay-later” market.

Lenders will have to register with the state, provide clear disclosures, assess if borrowers can repay, and maintain dispute and refund processes, said Democratic state Sen. Michael Hastings, who sponsored the bill and described the buy-now-pay-later landscape up until now as the “Wild West.”

Ticketed events like concerts “make life more enjoyable,” Pritzker said at the signing.

“Illinoisans shouldn’t have to compete against armies of computer programs or AI just to enjoy a night out,” he said.

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